The Greater Travelers
by smashbro-of-the-SSS
Summary: Join the travelers on their journey through the worlds to learn about society, themselves, and existence overall. This does not use the Pendragon characters but has unique ones made for the story specifically.
1. Prologue: The Maiden Voyage Part 1

**Disclaimer: Not my territories, but I made my own character personalities for this. Also, the images are tekteks, and I didn't write any songs I include. Honestly I don't think there is much of a problem knowing what is mine and what isn't, so I'm not trying to steal anything, just adapt something into a somewhat new story.**

**Alrighty, well. This is my first fan fic I'm posting on this site, but I've done some before. I began to write the story when I was a sophomore (now I'm a senior) actually, and now I've decided to pick it up again. I have read all the books and I promise you that it will all work out in accordance to everything. Hopefully I will be able to explain some things that never were explained in the book, and keep Pendragon alive now that the series is over.**

**That being said, a little about the story. The prologue introduces how everything starts (obviously) and takes place across two territories. I'll use the stars anytime there is a switch between territories, but outside of the Prologue. I have specific ideas for the beginning of the series and generally know where I'm going with it, so don't worry. You'll meet three travelers by the end of the Prologue, and hopefully I'll be able to surprise you. I've already worked on parts of the first story, and fooled one of my friends who will help me proof read this, so that's a good sign. And I'm somewhat merciless about killing people off. Not in a bad way, but I can almost guarantee there will be at least one death in each "book". I've given away too much already.**

**Only a few more notes, you'll notice that I have a song link posted at the beginning of this section. I'll try to do that to help set the mood for the chapter, so listen to it if you want, but it's not necessary. This page will probably also have a character library added in where I have the tekteks of each character Also, please write reviews, good or bad. Just don't make them too mean, just give me advice. If no one replies I'll end up not writing it, and if a bunch of people do, it will only encourage me to write more.**

**Hobey ho, let's go!**

**Edit: The Links aren't working at all, I'll have to see how I can get links to the characters, but I'll just give you the name of the song and trust you to look it up. Check back tomorrow (Tuesday the 27th).**

**Edit 2: Instructions to character image reference page:  
1) go to peram . proboards . com / index . cgi  
2) Then go down to Creative Works  
3) Click on the Fan Fics section  
4) Click on the thread**

**Sorry for taking long but I've been busy.**

********************************************

Prologue: The Maiden Voyage (Part 1)

How Far We've Come---Matchbox Twenty

********************************************

{Cloral}

.

A boy, with long, dark brown hair sped back to his current habitat, Grallion, on his skimmer. The skimmer looked like a speedboat, aside from the two side bars that went underwater, and used that water to propel the skimmer. As he neared the floating city, he slowed, and parked his skimmer at the dock. He took off the air globe, a device that let him breathe underwater, and dropped it onto the skimmer's seat. When it landed, the air globe returned to its normal form, a globe.

"You all done Kaimu?" one of the other aquaneers asked.

"Yeah, my shifts done. What'd need?" Ty Kaimu replied, with a genuinely concerned look on his face. He couldn't remember the guy's name, but he looked familiar. The guy must have been there when he was introduced a day ago. If the guy needed help with something, Kaimu would learn it soon enough.

"Nothin," the other guy replied. "Don't be so serious! I was just being friendly! So how do you like Grallion?"

"It's cool," Kaimu replied unenthusiastically. He had been there for only a day, and didn't expect to be there long. "Just hope I don't have to move again tomorrow!" Kaimu laughed. Despite the laugh, he knew that it was a possibility. His father's job had him moving from place to place. Friends, the city habitats... all that changed in an instant for him. The only constant was his training as an aquaneer. He was good at it and enjoyed it too... but he still wished for normal friends.

"Yeah," the other guy laughed. "Take it easy!" The other aquaneer said, and turned to go back to work. Kaimu turned to leave, with a look of sadness and longing on his face.

********************************************

{Second Earth}

.

Stacha Smith. The actress. The model. The fashion designer. The celebrity. Stacha walked into the press conference room, wearing an expensive purple, glittering dress.

"Now, let's welcome Stacha Smith, who recently celebrated her 32nd birthday this past week."

Stacha walked up to a podium, saying "Hello! Thank you, thank you everyone!" She was then bombarded with questions.

"Can you tell us anything about your new movie?" "Are you the new spokesperson for Old Al's Oil Company?" "Any news on your new clothing line?" "How do you juggle being an actress and a mother?"

"Yes, I will be the new spokesperson," Stacha replied. "And no, I cannot say anything about my new movie, and no news on the clothing line. But I can say that it is tough being a mother and actress, but I make my daughter my number one priority. She always comes with me to all the movie sets, so that she can always be near me..."

------screen turns black--------

"That's a load of crap," Delilah Smith said, turning off her mother's interview. "She apparently doesn't hear me when I say that I want to stay somewhere and be normal..."

********************************************

{Cloral}

Kaimu walked down the street, on his way to Grollo's, to get some sniggers. He felt the familiar feel of the plastic-like floor underneath his feet, thinking. He thought way too much.

_Wish my dad would stay in one place for a while, so we didn't have to move..._ Kaimu opened the door to Grollo's and heard other people talking, and laughing, and having a great time. He sat at the bar though, alone, and ordered a snigger. He got a pint sized cup, filled with golden brown liquid. He drank it all in one shot. At first it tasted horrible, then, it left an amazing after taste; the reason why people drank it. He knew no one there, so Kaimu walked out after taking a quick look around, and headed to his house.

He walked down the street, seeing some kids playing, and parents sitting on lounge chairs. A boomerang like object flew at him, he caught it, and then threw it back to the young kids playing with it. He smiled at them and waved; they waved back. But when they couldn't see him anymore he frowned again. He had no childhood memories of playing outside with other kids, just being shipped around from habitat to habitat. Kaimu opened the door to his house, and looked inside. Just as he remembered it. His suitcase was still there, mostly packed, aside from a couple sets of clothes. He took out a rubber like sphere, and started tossing it to himself off the plastic wall. He then got lost in his own thoughts...

********************************************

{Second Earth}

.

"Happy 40th!" Delilah said, as Stacha walked into the living room of her expensive mansion, located in LA. "Oh wait, I forgot, it's your 32nd again."

"Don't have an attitude with me young lady," Stacha scolded her daughter, not looking up.

"Oh, and I hear you're supporting Al's Oil now, huh?" Delilah asked.

"Yes, they've endorsed the movie I'm going to be in," Stacha asked.

"But you said yesterday that you hated those people!" Delilah almost yelled.

"Yes, but I can't do anything about that," Stacha replied, putting down her purse. "And anyways, what does it matter, if it makes money?"

"Don't you have any integrity?!? You should stand up for what you believe in. I can't believe you're my mother!"

"Do you have to be so critical of everything I do? I took you in and cared for you, I'm making money to pay for the house you live in and the clothes you buy, which are getting a bit old by the way..."

"I bought them two weeks ago! You know, I be you only took me in cause it would look good for you! All the famous people are doing it today!" Delilah stormed off toward her room, Stacha following.

"That is a lie!" Stacha said, for the first time very angrily.

"I hate you, you don't even listen to me, you won't even let me go to normal school!"

"You deserve the best, so I got you private tutors!"

"But maybe I want to go to NORMAL school like a NORMAL kid!"

"But you don't have to!"

"I WANT TO! YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME! I HATE YOU AND IM NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN!" Delilah slammed the bedroom door in her mother's face.

"You'll thank me one day," Stacha whispered.

********************************************

{Cloral}

_Ever since I was a young boy it was like this. Always moving. My mother died when I was only 3, and my dad always has his business. He isn't even my father. He adopted me. At least I got good training. He always set me up to be an aquaneer, teaching me how to use the equipment and stuff. Not like I had much choice though, I had nothing else to do. No one else to talk to. No friends._

Kaimu walked out of his house, which, of course, he knew was temporary, and went outside. "Might as well go back to work," he said, and set off. He walked down the road, his shadow next to him. It was almost sunset, and most people were done working for the day. He looked, and saw other people heading home, to go rest and then later go to bed. He, though there were people passing him, was alone on this road. When he got to work, he saw the same guy that was there before, leaving.

"You're back again?" the guy asked, as Kaimu put on an air globe and hopped on a skimmer.

"Yeah," Kaimu replied shortly. He was not in the mood to talk, and didn't feel like putting on a smile. Thinking about it, he probably was being mean, but if he couldn't vent any other way, then what else could he do?

"You work too much," the guy commented.

"What else am I supposed to do?" Kaimu asked, frowning. The other guy couldn't see his face though, and before the guy answered, Kaimu sped away.

********************************************

{Second Earth}

Delilah got up the next morning, having not heard from her mother since the fight.

She had sat in bed till 11:00 for two reasons:

____________________1. Being that she didn't want to see her mother

____________________2. Being that even though she couldn't sleep late no matter how hard she tried, most normal kids slept late.

For some reason she was usually awake by 7:00, and couldn't get back to sleep. But finally, Delilah decided to get up, and see what was going on. _Hopefully she was gone by now, she would never be late for work._ She looked around the rest of the house for her, and saw a note.

_Delilah I hope you are not too mad at me, but I had to leave early. I'm going to be at Studio 2342 for filming, when you get up, stop by. Love, Stacha, your mom_

Delilah paused for a second, and then scoffed. "Yeah, so sorry," she muttered. "Well, she'll be sorry when I run away." She proceeded upstairs and started packing her most prized belongings, and then went down to get some food. She didn't expect her mom to be home for some time, she was usually done with work after sunset.

********************************************

{Cloral}

Kaimu sped towards the open ocean, not really sure where he was going. If someone had been watching him though, they would probably think he was crazy. He put the brake on hard, and spun left, doing a 360, and then sped off again. "Awesome!" he yelled, and then turned to head back to Grallion. It was getting closer to sunset, and he didn't have anything to do out there, even though he normally spent more time on the ocean alone. The only reason he did that, though, was because it was his one chance to be truly happy, not having responsibility and just having fun. Most importantly there was no one there to put him down. But as he was headed back (he was still a far way out, too far to see), he saw that he was being chased by a pack of sharks. He turned and looked them, and they started to surround him. So Kaimu sped up, and obligingly, the sharks sped up too. He put it on cruise for a second, and went to get the water sled, which was just a "vehicle" that you grab onto with both hands, and when you pull the trigger, it propels you forward underwater. And he also picked up the spear gun lying next to it, in case the sharks were actually smart. He talked to himself, "Now let's get out of this tum-tigger."

********************************************

{Second Earth}

.

Stacha was being driven to her studio to start filming for the day, still worried about her daughter and her angry outburst yesterday. "I just wish she wouldn't be mad at me all the time, I mean, I do my best to take care of her, I make sure she gets everything..." The poor driver of the cart had to listen to her story the whole trip. As they reached the studio, Stacha got out and tipped the cabbie well.

"Thanks lady!" he said, in a tone that struck Stacha as odd for a cab driver to have. It sounded like he was a little kid getting a bag of candy on Halloween. "Just a tip, between you and me. Look in the wardrobe area downstairs, there's something you'll like." He winked, and drove away. She shrugged, maybe this guy was onto something. Maybe there was some jewelry she would like. She was, after all, a movie star, the cabbie probably noticed who she was and wanted to be nice. She would head down there later.

********************************************

{Cloral}

Kaimu strapped the spear gun to his back, and taped the throttle on the skimmer. Going over to one side, he put on the air globe, and got ready to jump in. He gripped his water sled tightly, and despite the danger of jumping into shark infested waters, he smiled. This was an adventure he wanted to go on. Something new. Something fun. And so he jumped into the water, missing the nearest shark. As soon as the water sled was submerged it sped off at full speed, dragging Kaimu for the ride. Fortunately he was used the water sled to he could handle it at this speed. Unfortunately, he looked behind himself. The sharks had followed him. That intrigued him more than freaked him out. What freaked him out were the yellow eyes. Kaimu sped around the sea floor, close to obstacles, to shake off the sharks, but they were not fooled. It continued on for a minute until Kaimu came upon a rock structure and he noticed that if he turned on his side, then he could make it through to where the sharks would not follow. If he judged it wrong though, well, he would take off both his arms. Or at least break them.

_What's the worst that could happen?_ He sped towards the crack in the rocks, and confirmed that it would be too small for the sharks to follow. _Good planning by whoever made this. _ But that was silly to think, nobody could have made a rock. He turned on his side and closed his eyes. A second later he opened them, and saw that he was in a beautiful cavern. Light came in from above, and shone on the pool of water in there. It was stunning. Brilliant blues and greens danced on the walls from the reflections, and fruit grew on the sides of the rocks. He swam over to a bunch of what looked like bananas on the wall, and plucked one. He peeled the yellow peel to reveal what looked like a banana, except that it was red, gummy, and there were multicolored seeds on the outside. Next to these, he noticed a note on the wall. It read:

_If you are reading this note, then it is likely that a time of critical importance has come to your territory, and it may had been caused by an outside force. If you need help, then call a name into the mouth, and find the one who wears this ring. They will come back to help you and your territory restore its natural balance. If there is no trouble, then DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS, AS IT IS DANGEROUS. Cloral, Denduron, Eelong, First Earth, Ibara, Quillian, Second Earth, Third Earth, Veelox, Zadaa._

Next to it hung a ring. It looked interesting; there were 10 designs around the edge, and it just seemed cool to Kaimu. Kaimu had no idea what this note meant at all. But he felt as if it were important somehow. He just had this feeling...He looked over the list again, and despite the warning that it was dangerous, called out a name the stuck out to him on the list.

"Second Earth." Kaimu looked up as he heard soft, musical notes, and the top of the cave he was in turned blue.

"Hobey..."


	2. Prologue: The Maiden Voyage Part 2

**OOC: After my next chapter, I'm going to stop publishing this unless someone comments. Even if it is all negative, at least show me something so that I know the story is being read. If there's no one I'll just move on to another project.**

* * *

{Second Earth}

Stacha did, in fact, go down to the wardrobe rooms in the basement. However the cabbie knew, he was right; the costumes down there were gorgeous.

She did this nearer towards the end of the day, soon she would be going home from work. She was done shooting for the day, and wanted to go home to Delilah to make up with her, but then remembered the cabbie's advice. What harm could it do?

Just as she was about to turn back and go home, she noticed a door, with a star scratched into it. Out of curiosity, she opened it, and walked in.

It looked like a cave. Stacha had to turn around and check out the door to make sure she was still in the costume wardrobe. It was then that she noticed the note and ring. She barely had time to read it before the room glowed blue from the ... well, blue light that was coming out of the cave... and there was also... music...

She saw a boy, around age seventeen walk out of it. He seemed as shocked as she was. Then again, she must have been more shocked. The boy was wearing some kind of swimsuit, and eating a nerds rope that looked like a banana.

* * *

Kaimu saw the woman in front of him faint, and ran up to her, to make sure she was fine. She didn't seem to be hurt at all, and only fainted because of the creepy sight. Well, he couldn't blame her. Then he noticed the note, and ring, and picked them up. They were the same as the note he had read, and the ring he now wore on his right ring finger.

He tucked away the note in a pocket, and put the second ring on his left ring finger. Even if he was being a hypocrite, the note did say dangerous. He didn't feel as though he was doing something wrong by this though, it was actually as if he was going to help by doing this.

So Kaimu took the lady under the arms, and began to drag her into the prop room. Of course, he didn't know what it was, but he figured she would fit in there. He laid her down against a wall, and pulled the door shut. 'Good,' he thought. 'The star marks it.'  
He ran through some lanes of clothes, and eventually someone coming down a staircase. "Hey, some lady fainted back there. Can you, like, call somebody to help?" Kaimu wanted to make sure she would be ok.  
"Sure, thanks kid."

Kaimu then realized he had no idea where he was. But as long as he could get back, he assumed all he had to do was yell Cloral in that place. It was actually kinda cool, the ride over...It was like swimming in...air kinda. Kaimu had walked without knowing it, and was now out of the building entirely. He had to catch himself quickly; Kaimu had almost fallen for some reason. It was then he realized...he was on a rock. There was no water around, or at least under him.

Despite living his whole life on water, he didn't let it show. Wherever he was, he couldn't afford to give anything away about himself. It didn't feel right. He knew that it had to be some other place, outside of Cloral, even though it seemed impossible. People all around were walking fine, as if being on dry land was...normal.

So Kaimu set off, wondering about the meaning of the note he had found. If the list of ten were worlds, that would mean that it wasn't only Cloral out there. and it said that to only travel if you needed help. Could there be something dangerous that was gonna come to Cloral? Or the other worlds?

A smile lit up on Kaimu's face. Now he would still be a traveler, as he always was...but now he would have purpose.

"Hey, watch it!" a girl yelled at him as she walked into him. He looked at her quickly; she was wearing a bright shirt with a flower on it, nice hair, and looked like she would be pretty if she wasn't angry and dragging a rolling suitcase behind her.  
"Hey," Kaimu replied, catching up to her. He said it in a friendly tone, as anyone would normally start up a conversation.  
"What do you want?" the girl asked, but seemed to be less angry. She actually stopped walking, and turned to face him. _'Guess she's not in a hurry.'_

'What does this guy want?' Delilah asked herself. Even as she did, she found that she was trusting him. He seemed to be nice. Even though she had never seen him before, he must have been one of the other actors for some new show. Probably some show where people are stuck on some island. Getting to that, she noticed his odd clothes, but actually liked the style.  
"You just...seem mad at something...Is something wrong?" the boy asked. He was being sincere, she knew. But still, should she tell all her problems to this boy she just met?  
"It's nothing," she replied, but didn't move from her spot like she wanted to. "It's just...my mom hates me."  
"I'm sure she doesn't...here, take a seat," the boy motioned to a bench. "I'm Kaimu by the way." He extended his hand to shake.  
"Delilah." She shook it.

"My mom doesn't let me do anything," Delilah began. "She won't let me be normal, she always has me get homeschooling, won't let me go out and have friends, I just have to stick around with her all the time, and I hate it." She let out a sigh, even though she was mad, it was hard for her to figure out decent arguments for why she was mad exactly.  
"Well, I don't know exactly what you mean, but do you think she does those things cause she loves you?"  
"That's what she says. But what does she know, she's never been married and only works all the time..."  
"Wait...so you're adopted?" Delilah nodded. "So am I."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. My dad drags me all around, from habitat to habitat so I get mad at him for not letting me settle in and have real friends." Delilah perked up at this, it was the same as her problem. "But he would never leave me somewhere, because he cares about me and my welfare, so he makes sure I can be taken care of when he can't be there."

Delilah sat for a minute, thinking over what Kaimu said. "I guess you're right. She does do everything she can for me." Kaimu smiled. She was beginning to think this random guy was pretty nice, to stop a random person and help them. "So what does your dad do exactly?"

* * *

And now, Kaimu had a choice to make. How could he tell the truth without telling her that he was not from here? Should he lie? Should he trust her? All he knew was that he had to go with the feeling in his gut on this; since he already seemed to know what he should do.

* * *

Stacha had woken up to find herself back in the storage room, apparently having fainted. Still, to everyone around she insisted that she was fine. She drove home to her large mansion and looked into the sunset, taking nothing in. She was telling herself over and over that it was all a dream. There wasn't even any evidence that it was real. It was impossible for a boy to come in a flurry of blue lights and music into a cave which was randomly found through a door in the basement of a studio. Of course it was.

She unlocked the door, and walked in, about to call out to Delilah when she head voices talking. Stacha listened as she walked towards the voice in the living room.  
"And the farms are underwater?"  
"Yeah, all of our tools are powered by the water so we can actually plant and work down there. That and it gets all of the nutrients from the sun and water, without having to really worry about anything else bothering them...Wait. Did you hear something?"

Stacha had indeed bumped into a table, and made some noise. But it was because the male voice was familiar. But last time it had spoken nonsense. But it couldn't be...

Stacha walked into the room, and saw her daughter laughing and eating macaroni and cheese with the boy who had walked out of the cave earlier today.

At least this time she had a couch to faint onto.

* * *

Delilah looked from her mother to Kaimu, wondering what happened. Kaimu was also shocked at seeing her mom for some reason, but at least he didn't faint. Ok. Well, she did invite some new guy into her house and made food for him. And he was from some different world. Heck, he could have lied. But he was the type who wouldn't lie. It already seemed like she had known him her whole life. But it wasn't like that. Not at all.  
"Is she gonna be ok this time?" Kaimu asked her, looked over her mother to see if she was breathing.  
"What do you mean this time?" Delilah asked. Kaimu hadn't gotten to the point of telling her what happened when he came, and how Stacha had fainted.

It was then that she began to come to. She saw the boy and her daughter looking over her.  
"Well, at least you didn't land on the ground this time," Kaimu said to her. Delilah had to admit that he had a sense of humor too.  
"Who are you?" she asked, in a tired and surprised voice.

* * *

"My name is Kaimu," he began. "And I come from a world called Cloral." And so Kaimu explain the whole ordeal to the mother and daughter. Delilah was taking it all in well, with excitement on her face. Stacha, on the other hand, was disbelieving. He went through everything, from explaining what a habitat was, what aquaneers do, to how he reached the flume. He told of the note, and showed it to them, along with the rings. And even though he was unsure of what exactly had happened, he told the two that there were 10 worlds called "territories" and that some people would have to travel between them because something bad was coming. And while not a complete lie, he didn't know any of this as the truth. But hey, if he sounded like he knew his stuff, he would make himself look better and smarter to Stacha and Delilah, and would figure everything out eventually.

"So you really expect me to believe that you're an alien from some other planet that's covered in water?" Stacha asked, as if she had just heard some fairy tale. And Kaimu had to admit it sounded like a good story.

"But he's here, he's living proof that this is real!" Delilah replied to her mother.

"He could be some random person from L.A. making up a lie. Delilah, how could you trust him so easily?"

"He was friendly to me, something you never were."

"Look, Delilah, I told you, she's acting in your best interests and wants the best for you," Kaimu said, trying to defuse the argument.

"What did you tell him?!?"

"Everything I couldn't tell you." After these words, Stacha was more angered than ever. And she had right, Delilah had given away family matters to a complete stranger. But both Delilah and Kaimu knew that he could be trusted.

"Show me," Stacha finally said.

"What?" replied the other two at once.

"I want to see your water world. Prove it. I'll drive us there."

"But," Kaimu replied, suddenly hesitant. "The note said people shouldn't travel. We don't know what could happen, things could get worse."

"You came here, didn't you?" Stacha asked. Kaimu knew she was right, and decided there was no other way to gain her trust.

"Alright. We'll go. But we can't tell anyone else."

* * *

It was an uncomfortable ride to say the least, starting with who would sit where. Stacha wanted Kaimu in the passenger seat and Delilah in the back, while Delilah wanted to be in the back with Kaimu. He said he would sit in the back and Delilah up front, but they both told him no. It ended up being Stacha's way just to get the group moving towards the other world. They were a few blocks away from the studio building when they drove past a man walking on the side of the road. He looked somewhat shifty, and despite he better senses, Stacha pulled over to him.

"Do you need a ride? I thought you would have a car where you leave the cab," Stacha said to the cabbie from earlier, who had given her the advice. He had been friendly enough, and had given her the directions to the amazing wardrobe.

"Hey lady, don't tell me that you're going back," the cabbie said, and despite the questioning tone, he had a look of anticipation on his face, as if eagerly awaiting a present.

"Yes, I am actually," Stacha replied to him, for some reason not finding this question odd. Kaimu shifted in his seat, feeling that something bad was going to go down. Apparently he had been the one to tell Stacha how to get to the flume, and now he wanted to know if she was going back. He glanced over to Delilah, who also looked uneasy, but solely from the fact that her mom was talking to a strange man.

"Can I get a ride then?" he asked.

"Sure."

As they drove to the studio, no one spoke, and Kaimu marveled at how she had let this random stranger into the car. Even though she wanted to protect her daughter, Stacha had let the cabbie sit in the back with Delilah. Even he was acting strangely. The man stared at the three in turn, as if trying to think about them. Delilah was trying to inch as far away from the man as she could, and caught Kaimu's eye as he looked to her. He gave her a reassuring smile, and she gave a little smile back. _'Even when she is scared of sitting next to a creepy man, she can smile.'_ Kaimu thought, smiling to himself. _'And she…well, she…I don't even know, she gets credit for that though.'_

The odd group got out of the car once they arrived at the studio, and Delilah felt she needed to break the silence.

"So, what are you doing here anyways? Who are you?" she asked. Of course, everyone wanted to know the same thing, but no one could quite bring themselves to say it.

"I'm going to be seeing a lot of you actually. And I came here for the fun," the cabbie said, not turning around. Stacha found this as something odd to say, but could not think of anything that would seem right. Kaimu solved this problem for her by saying, "What fun?"

"This," he responded shortly, and turned around. In a blink of her eyes, everything changed.

The cabbie, dropping his gun, turned and ran into the studio which had changed everything. He was sprinting, faster than a man should for his age. Kaimu was the first to come out of shock from this event, and looked from mother to daughter. Even though he did not know what was exactly going on, he too sprinted, picking up the gun and headed after the cabbie.

The remaining two were on the ground, in the cabbie's haste, he had not shot to kill, but Stacha knew that she would not be able to make it to a hospital. It seemed as if her voice didn't work, and Delilah leaning over her seemed miles away. If she could just tell her daughter one more time. She died holding Delilah's hand, and with her daughter sobbing over her body.

* * *

Kaimu followed the cabbie through the same wardrobe room that he had been in just this afternoon. He knew where to go, even if it didn't make sense to him at the time. Unfortunately, the cabbie had had a head start.

The flume was activating as Kaimu got close, and the cabbie was standing in front of it, waiting to be taken in.

"What did you do that for, what did she do to you? You just killed a woman!"

"And I'll kill more before I'm through. It's time that the territories are shaken up," the cabbie replied. He still sounded like a kid, but he knew about everything.

"Why her? What did she do to you?"

"You and the girl would be more interesting to mess around with. She would have been a deadbeat," replied the cabbie. Kaimu tried to shoot the man, but there were no bullets left. "We'll meet again later." The man was sucked back into the flume, and Kaimu was left standing in the mouth of the flume, alone.

"I may not have been the perfect daughter, and she may not have been the perfect mom," Delilah said to the crowd in the funeral parlor. It was a few days after her mother's death, and she had chosen to speak at the funeral. Things had been so crazy the last few days, she couldn't know if she could believe it all. But she could because of her one constant which kept her going: Kaimu. After Stacha's death he stayed with her in the house, helping her to arrange the funeral despite not knowing what to do himself. And while he didn't have any particular talents to help with around the house, whether it be cooking, cleaning or anything else, he was able to comfort her when she needed it. Anything that was bothering her, he would be there. Delilah had to admit to herself now that it was like he was the brother she always wanted.

"But Stacha Smith was a wonderful person, who always had the best interest of those around her in heart. The whole world knew her from her acting, but rarely saw the side of her that I did: how she was as a mom. She would do anything for anyone, no matter if she barely knew them. Adopting me was probably a burden to her, especially at the start, but she took me in and took care of me at her own expense. She did everything she could to raise me to be an upstanding young woman who could look after herself. And now I'm proud to say that she has done her job well. Thank you."

She looked back to Kaimu, who gave her a reassuring smile. He had even helped her write this, and even though she knew it wasn't Shakespeare, it sounded perfect to her, and she figured that he would become a pretty good writer with practice.

She smiled at the crowd one more, smiling. Now all that was left was to go back to the house for the reception.

* * *

Back at the house, after the reception, Delilah had asked Kaimu to come up to her room.

"What do you need?" he asked, with his friendly smile on his face, giving her reassurance in what she was going to say. But to his surprise, she broke out crying, and moved towards him. He took her in his arms and they sat down on the bed, with Kaimu feeling awkward and important at the same time. It was one of those moments where he did not know what to say to make things better.

"Look, I know that we're travelers and all, and that we'll be able to see each other again," Delilah began, in between sobs, "But still…I want to know you'll always be around to go to. I don't know what I would have done without you. Now that mom is gone…you're the only friend I have."

"I'll always be there for you," Kaimu replied, smiling. She knew he would.

"So what do we do now?" Delilah asked.

"We have to go where we're needed," Kaimu replied, taking out the list and instructions. One quick scan, and he had that feeling again, that he knew what he would do. "Hobey ho, let's go!"

********************************************  
{Quillian}

A boy, wearing a red and black shirt, ran through the maze of crates. He was in a competition, the first one out would get the biggest reward. The boy turned a corner, and continued to run. He felt confident that he was ahead of everyone else, except maybe one competitor. But it didn't really matter. It was supposed to be a series of games, all new. The winner of the tournament would win a large sum of money, which his family could really use. It was hard times for everyone.

There was a countdown going on, until something new was introduced into the challenge. Now, it was down to around 30 seconds. If it reached 0, it would be even harder to win, so Naarai had to move quickly.

He turned a corner in the warehouse, and noticed something strange on the wall. It looked like a star, etched in one panel. He slowed down and looked at it for a second, wondering what it meant. No one knew much about these games, because today was the first. The main rules were use anything to win, and be ready for surprises.

So Naarai figured that it was part of the game. He saw that the panel moved, and crawled in. One he found its inside handle he pulled it shut, not wanting the others to notice it. As the door shut, the countdown could not be heard anymore.

It looked like a cave, with only a few items on the ground. It looked like a change of clothes (the uniform of a competitor) and a ring with a note.

"If you need help, then call a name into the mouth, and find the one who wears this ring," Naarai read the words that jumped out at him most. "Hmmm." He figured this would be part of the competition, and yelled out the most interesting name on the list.

The flume then sprung to life, and though he was shocked, Naarai was also amazed. The music notes were so peaceful, and soon he was swept away. But something he had heard seemed odd. At the moment the cave sprung to life, he had heard an explosion.

But it must have been part of whatever he was doing. And who knew where he was going? He only knew that it would be good. Games were always fun.


End file.
